Sutherland’s Home Hardware closes after 70 years in Saskatoon neighbourhood

It’s been a Sutherland staple for decades, but Zak’s Home Hardware on Central Avenue closed its doors for the final time on Friday.

Lance Zacharias, chief financial officer of the Zak’s Group of Companies – which includes Home Hardware – said the decision was made at the end of February, and staff members were informed about the closure earlier this month.

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Zacharias said the reason for the store shutting its doors is tied to the chain’s new location on 51st Street, which opened in December on the site of the old Peavey Mart.

“We could see some of the inefficiencies creeping in, and a lot of our customers were either shopping in both stores or had migrated over to the bigger store on 51st,” Zacharias said.

Though the decision to close the Sutherland Home Hardware location caused sadness amongst employees, according to Zacharias, it wasn’t a complete shock.

“Having worked in that store for a long time, they could also see the inefficiencies… and that customers that were going over to the other store, so they understood,” he said.

The store was also damaged in November when a car plowed through its storefront.

But the staff on Central Avenue aren’t all out of a job. Zacharias said “the majority of them” will transfer to the 51st Street shop.

The same goes for inventory.

“Everything that’s in (the Sutherland location), we are going to move it into our 51st location, so the product selection will only get better at 51st,” Zacharias said.

Saying goodbye to the Sutherland store

But there’s one thing that the newer location can’t easily replicate –and it has to do with a feeling rather than any product.

“This feels like a small-town store,” sad one shopper who was visiting the store on its final day. “I love coming here.”

Elliott Saranchuk sits on his dad’s lap, holding his Easter egg hunt sheet, while the Home Hardware employees working the last shift stand behind them. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)

While four-year-old Elliott Saranchuk normally tells his dad he doesn’t like coming to the tool store because it’s boring, the visit on Friday was different. Saranchuk was in the middle of an Easter egg hunt organized by staff members on the store’s final afternoon.

Although Zacharias said the 51st Street location isn’t offering an egg-filled scavenger hunt this year, he assured customers that it will continue the tradition of hosting family friendly events.